and we're back now with more of "today" on a wednesday morning. it's the 12th day of september, 2012. another song from natalie's go-to playlist, playing right now. that is "every tear drop is a waterfall" from coldplay. >> turn it up. >> i know natalie has liked coldplay for a while. >> that's a good one. >> we like this, natalie. >> a good one. >> i know. >> we dgive your playlist two

thumbs up, absolutely. >> your playlist, been criticizing ours all week. >> i liked al's. >> well, anyway, tomorrow, i'll have my revenge. your playlist, a selection you picked. what is it? >> this is "somebody i used to know," probably the most current song on my playlist. >> okay. >> most of them are from like 1922. >> exactly. >> that's tomorrow here on "today." meanwhile, what else do we have coming up? >> did you say you discovered this song? >> no, but you came into the makeup room one day saying i've got a new song, it's fantastic, and i'd had it on my ipad for about eight weeks. >> we'll talk about a little bit later. song ran out and we were still bickering. what's coming up, al? >> so sad you had to see that, and you, too america. >> we could still be bickering after "hey, jude." >> steals and deals on everything from music to clothes and so much more, and, of course, we've got obie, obie the

daschund who is overweight, so far overweight, but the good news is he's starting to lose with a new foster mom, and hopefully we'll get him healthy. >> needs exercise and get him on a healthy path. >> howie mandel is inside and joining us again at the top of this hour. first let's go back inside to natalie with a check of the headlines good morning, everyone. president obama this morning condemned the overnight attack on the u.s. consulate in libya that killed american ambassador chris stevens along with three american members of his staff. a senior defense official tells nbc news there is no indication that any u.s. marines are among the dead or wounded. anti-american protesters have also gathered for a second day outside the u.s. embassy in cairo, egypt. the protests in both countries were apparently triggered by a privately produced american video that denounces islam. president obama has ordered increased security for u.s. diplomats around the world.

the white house says president obama and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu reaffirmed their commitment to keep iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. the two leaders spoke by hour by phone. netanyahu has been urging the u.s. and other nations to set what he called clear red lines for iran. chicago's school system is at a standstill for a third day as the teachers union and school district negotiators failed to reach an agreement tuesday night. the union says a deal is still a long way off, but teachers are getting support on the picket lines as parents are joining in. a new book from the italian boyfriend of amanda said he and knox attracted strange behavior after the murder back in 2007. both served four years in an italian prison for kircher's murder but were acquitted last

fall. apple unveils the latest version of its iphone in san francisco today. the iphone 5 is expected to work with 4g cellular networks, a capability many cell phone rivals already have. there is speculation that it will have a bigger screen, slimmer design and a better camera lens. jpmorgan's chief economist says the sales could be big enough to give a noticeable boost to the nation's gdp. and we're getting our first look at baby edward duke rancic, the 2-week-old is son to proud mom and dad bill and giuliana rancic. he's got his mommy's dimples, and says they are feeling blessed beyond words. it is day two of the duke and duchess of cambridge tour in south asia and every one of the couple's moves is being closely watched. nbc's sarah james is in singapore. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. will and kate had a packed

schedule in blistering heat but the hottest question of the day wasn't on the itinerary. it was the question of when this popular pair might be starting a family. >> kate, you're great. >> reporter: an enthusiastic welcome for the duke and duchess of cambridge. hundreds of fans braved scorching temperatures to bask in reflective royal glory as will and kate toured a manmade oasis in the center of singapore's sophisticated high rises. >> i shook her hand. i was so happy. >> we've been here since 5:30 in the morning. we were the first two here. >> reporter: will and kate repaid those early birds with a certainly touch, a wave here, handshake there, kate eye level with pint-sized fans. >> she was wearing a white dress. >> reporter: but alexandra mcqueen, as it turns out, but who is to say who her next designer might be. >> i would like to design a

dress for her. >> reporter: when it comes to kate and will fashion is far from the only focus. royal watchers scrutinize everything the couple say and do, from william overheard responding to someone in the crowd that he'd like to have two children, to kate's choice not to drink wine during toasts tuesday night. >> kate was at the state banquet, and she drank water what she toasted the speeches. the treat is she had been on a long haul flight and doesn't really drink that much. >> reporter: one sip of water enough to really unleash the latest flood of baby buzz rumors. >> the palace is saying her drinking water, should not read too much into it. >> reporter: wednesday the main children in the spotlight at this special needs school. the duchess keen to view their art therapy approach. >> had a sprint of that magic dust certainly. >> reporter: those in this financial mecca hope that magic dust can also turn to dollars, like this aircraft engine facility operated by rolls royce, the royals are a powerful team and a powerful brand.

indeed, one magazine recently estimated the worth of the monarchy brand at $70 billion. it certainly is true when it comes to gaining interest and attention, this couple has the midas touch. natalie. >> that they do. sarah james in singapore for us. thank you. we're going to be talking more about the royals coming up in a moment. it is now seven minutes past the hour. let's turn it over to al with a check of the weather. hey, al. >> thanks so much, natalie. as we check out what we've got going on today. a cold front that's going to be bringing big changes. can you see on the radar it's from minneapolis all the way down into the southwest, this big system is causing a lot of rain, anywhere from 1 to 4 inches from omaha down to albuquerque. another big change caused by in this front, ahead of it warm air. we're talking temperatures 80s and 90s. behind it, temperatures fall anywhere from 10 to 20 degrees into the upper 60s to the low 70s. >> good morning.ing on around

it will be another beautiful day today. a touch warmer than yesterday. sunshine with a high temperature near 80 degrees and that's your latest weather. natalie. >> all right, al. thank you. this morning on today's "take 3" we're sharing our thoughts on hot topics and some help today from "america's got talent's" howie mandel. how are we doing? >> i think we're doing fine. >> i didn't mean to do that. >> very exciting day. finals tonight, 9:00 live. >> i know. >> don't miss it. >> and twitter handle again. >> @howiemandel. i'll talk to you. i want to do the "take 3" thing,

started watching it yesterday. >> a lot of us who are parents have certainly had our not so fine parenting moments, and we saw one that sparked a lot of outrage around the world. there was a british mom, she's actually a journalist and a model, who was out with her baby in a stroller, 5-month-old baby in a stroller. her name is beaches geldoff, didn't have a peachy moment though. on the phone as the stroller hits a pothole. the baby falls out of the stroller. >> the phone did not fall. >> the phone stays glued to the ear so that's one of those moments where a lot of people are like drop the cell phone, pick up the child. >> you're assuming from a picture that you know what was going on. >> exactly. >> she could have been on the phone minutes before that going listen, i want to drop the baby in a pothole, can you tell me where one is? to the left, to the right, the left, the right? got it. thank you so much. you don't know. don't judge. >> don't read the picture. that is a good point, that you don't want to judge, because as

i saw, that people on twitter were ferocious. >> of course. >> shocker. >> but she's somebody the paparazzi are staking her out, and so they have caught that very bad moment where she was -- just happened to have the phone here, but she took care of the child. the child is fine. >> right. >> nobody worry. >> we've all had this. we've all had moments. >> no, i've been perfect. >> a-ha. >> can i get examles. >> my son doing his homework last night and i was getting a little frustrating, like, josh, how -- you raise the voice. >> drop him in a pothole? >> no. >> you raise the volume a little bit more than i should have or even once at a target when one of my children was having a total meltdown, i had a cart full of stuff and i just picked up my child and walked out and left the cart. bye, target. get him out of there. i was just so embarrassed. >> my kid was in high school, one of my daughters was in high school, and i'm very conservative, you know. i went into a room. >> you? >> i went into a room and i found a film canister filled with what i believed was

marijuana, and i went to the school and went to the principal, called her out of the office, took her home, dragged her out of the class, put the canister down and i said what is this, young lady, and she said my fish food. >> oh, no, and i said that's what i thought it was, now get back to school! >> there's a zero tolerance for fish food policy. >> you got one, al? are you a perfect parent? >> no, i'm not. but at least one of the kid, i won't say which one because then people will be looking at them, changing a diaper and you look away and the next thing you know they are under the bed, you know. >> under the bed. >> oh, you hear thud and they kind of roll. >> that happens. >> they are all right. >> let's move on to the next one. >> wow. >> this just kills me, cover the royals a lot on this show. >> right. >> everybody is speculating that kate may be pregnant because she tasted some water. >> oh, my gosh. >> did you see that. >> wants to stay hydrated. >> they assume that she's pregnant. >> as you heard, she just came

off a long flight at this engagement. >> she's drinking water. >> she's drinking water. not drinking the local wine. another one of these other magazines had a big thing that says kate's expecting, and their evidence was that apparently on the back of her dress there was a stitch that looked like it had been taken out a little bit, a sash. >> if that's the case, then i'm really pregnant. >> you cannot gain a pound -- she's so thin. she is waif-like, and she can't gain a pound without people saying she's pregnant. look at her boobs, they look great. >> people so concerned with other people's pregnancy, whether they are or not. when my wife was pregnant, she was like eight months, strangers in an elevator would put their hands on her and go when, when? and my wife, who is very funny, would go when what? and they would go, oh, i'm sorry, and she would never let on to the fact she was pregnant. nobody's business and people shouldn't be touching somebody

and just because someone is drinking water we shouldn't speculate. >> are we too obsessed with celebrity baby bumps? >> yes. >> i think we all agree but let us know how you feel about the subject, today.com on our website. >> some celebrities are just fat. >> some are a little bloated. >> right. >> here's the quote, some is celebrities are just fat. >> and many more are not pregnant. >> yes. >> move on. >> al, let's talk about the drink you drink every morning. >> people ever see this on camera? >> oh, my gosh, might run away from you. >> is that a solid or a liquid? >> put a little too much in today, but i drink this stuff, and i put a lot of fresh ginger in it. >> a lot of fresh ginger this it. >> why? >> i like the taste, anti-oxidants and helps -- ginger helps with digestion, it's an anti-inflammatory. >> you haven't even taken three sips of that and in your third hour here. >> my second. >> this is a fermented drink, so what al is not telling you is that he's drinking a cocktail

every morning. >> got a buzz on right now. >> fantastic. >> i don't want to drink anything that i have to chew. look at you chewing after you take a sip. >> i chew, it i do. >> that's a lot of ginger though. >> we had the segment earlier about taking supplements and all that. do you think it's work? you're willing to try anything. >> i don't know if it works or if it's, you know, one of those things -- >> makes you feel good. >> use the power of your mind to believe it's working. >> what do you think it's done for you? >> nothing. >> look at his complexion. look at his complexion, he's glowing. >> like a baby's bottom. >> any secret potions, houry, that you drink? >> i won't touch anything. i don't have any supplements. i'm gluten-free. i do that. >> and germ-free. >> i try to be germ-free. i'm not germ-free. the fact that i'm here today makes -- >> you're on this couch and you're on that chair. >> we should have worn our bubble outfits. >> howie mandel, thank you. want to remind everybody the final performances of "america's

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deals, great items at discounted prices just for you, our viewers. contributor jill martin is here to walk us through the offers. >> good morning. >> remind us for people who don't know how this happens. >> go on today.com and we'll link tout retailers' websites, and again, i say this every week, if you want something go on now because they have been blowing out within minutes. >> they have. let's get right to it. first deal today, the loose pocket wrap from flux, as you see, all these different colors that we have here. easy piece to dress up, dress down. great for traveling. >> the retail is $129, and you feel them. they are very comfortable and have a little rayon in it and won't wrinkle. great for travel. comes in six colors. the retail 129. the deal 38.70, 70% off. >> all the color choices here, as you can see. over here, this is a great set of skin care, comes with five of the brand's best-sellers. >> they put this together. they rarely discount their prices like this, so if you like

this, go on right now. the retail $202, the complete daily regimen and includes full-sized products of the best-sellers, foamy cleanser, the mist, recovery gel, day cream and hand cream. the retail 202. the deal for the whole set in the box, $52. that's 74% off. >> all natural skin caroline, right, really great. >> smell this. rose. >> i love that. >> feel like i just swallowed roses. over here for kids, children's song collection from little genius comes with ten different cds. >> i hear "the wheels on the bus." >> a little more rock 'n' roll. >> rock 'n' roll version, retail $98, the creators of baby genius, and the collection is 200 favorite children's songs. comes with ten cds. over six hours of music for children through the age of 6. nursery rhymes, alphabet songs, rock tunes, the retail $98, the

deal 28.40, 70% off. >> hopefully with ten cds won't have to hear the same songs over and over. >> watches from britta. >> i'm wearing my favorite. >> the white one. >> very cool. >> a fun watch, they retail to $45 to $70. all metal, rubber and lightweight plastic so these really are a fun watch to throw on. >> like that. >> big celebrity following. the retail, 45 to 70. the deal, $13. that's up to 81% off, and just go on the site. there's a variety of everything, colors, materials, everything is on. >> very cool. >> and comes in a cute tin so if you want to load up, can't believe i'm saying this, for holiday. >> very great gifts. >> over here, this is a major situation. this flatwear set, 48-piece set, everything included, servingware, all of it. >> major situation. >> even tongues. >> the retail, $269.99. 84-piece flatware set in a

beautiful leather case as you see. kind of dinner for 12, including dessert, everything here. pieces handmade of high quality durable stainless steel and dishwasher safe. say that ten times fast. retails 269.99. the deal 79.99. that's 70% off. >> that's a great deal for 48 pieces. >> wow, fantastic. >> good job jill martin. here are the products for you once again. the flux's loose pocket wrap, the jurlique skin care set, little genius cd set and the watches and the flatware set. any questions, head to today.com. still ahead, gold medal olympian sanya richards-ross right after this. ♪ tell the neighbors, friends, everyone the news ♪ ♪ and let's hum, hum, hum, hum ♪ ♪ let's hum ♪ a prius for everyone ♪ there's a bigger one, if you want more space ♪ ♪ a small one if the city's your place ♪

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> another beautiful day. cool again this morning. this afternoon, temperatures will, close to 80 degrees. another nice day tomorrow. the sunshine, high of 81 on thursday. rain on f

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you say remember guys, if your friends give you a hard time about being romantic, it's because they don't know how to treat their lady right. are you a romantic guy? >> i think i am. >> what's the most romantic thing that you've done? >> the most romantic thing that i've done -- >> we're going to leave you hanging there. that's why we call it a tease. what exactly is the most romantic thing justin bieber has ever done? you have to tune in tomorrow on today opens up about his past and future in an interview with ryan seacrest. i'm natalie along with al roker. get ready.

giddyup. guess what? he's not the only huge act coming to the plaza. we can't tell you who it is just yet. tune in tomorrow. huge announcement. >> i'm trying to figure out who it is. all right. meanwhile just ahead, not one, not two, but five one-minute do it yourself fixes for your home. a dog trying to fix his weight problem. you saw him. the dachshund. he's 77 pounds and now on a crash course diet to slim down. >> later on, your best beauty buys at your local drugstore. you can get high quality makeup. first we want to say hello to sanya richards-ross. she achieved her dream of becoming an olympic gold medalist to win the 400-meter. >> good to see you. >> i brought them for you. >> you brought them for us. >> so crossing that finish line for the first time, what was that like for you? >> oh, my gosh, it's still a bit

surreal for me. you cross the finish line and you can't believe it happened. it's a a dream i've had since i was a child. i believe that hard work pays off and living in the moment still. >> now being back home and i know that you and your husband who -- corner back for the jaguars, aaron ross. do you have time to kind of balance life and work and try to work it out so you get date nights in there too? >> we try to. sometimes it is difficult. i scheduled some time pulls us apart. we make time for each other. that makes our relationship so unique. we have great experiences but then we come together and share those moments. he's so special. he's my special guy. >> you got two gold medals. the second one for anchoring the 4 x by 400 meter. >> you know who is more protective of the medals is my dad. do you still have the medals, do

you have a picture. i take them everywhere. everybody wants to see them. they're in my purse all week. >> that's what we're missing a trophy rack. >> we need a trophy room. >> everybody should have a trophy room. >> you're in new york taking part in your other passion, which is fashion. >> yeah. >> look how fashionable you are. >> thank you so much. >> what shows are you going to go to? >> i love fashion like you said. it's one much my greatest passions. i've been to so many great shows, bcbg, re beck mink off, it's been great. couture, it's been my dream to take it in. >> when you cross the finish line, you always look good. >> thank you so much, natalie. >> sanya richards-ross. >> thanks for having me, guys. let's see what we have. gorgeous day in the east. temperatures warmer. little more humid but not by much. behind it, much chillier

conditions. breezy weather. plenty of sunshine through the plains. but wet weather along the frontal system and gorgeous day in the pacific northwest. wet weather from texas up into the central great lakes. sunny and warm in the pacific northwest. sunny and hot through the northwest into southernno >> good morning. a beautiful start on this wednesday. it will be a mild afternoon. we expect plenty of sunshine. and that's your latest weather. al, thank you. coming up next, one-minute projects to get your home in shape after this. no excuses. only takes a minute.

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if your good driving could save you up to 30%. so try the way to save that's as unique as you are. now you can test-drive snapshot before you switch. visit progressive.com today. this morning on today's home shlgs one-minute fixes. there's always something that needs repair. you don't need to hire a handyman. you can do it yourself. eric stermer is the host on a and e. eric, good morning. >> good morning. >> you're going to help us with the one-minute fixes. it takes too much time. no excuse, right? >> on my show, i talk about large scale issues. these are things you can do yourself at home. the first thing i wanted to talk about. the electrical switch is a basic concept but nothing changes mood lighting and the feeling in a room like a dimmer switch.

the anatomy is you take the switch plate off, take this off. this switch. you a replace it with a dimmer. there's a ground wire, a hot and a cold. you hook it up, put it back in, plate goes on and done. if you don't know how to turn the power off at the panel, you're in trouble. it's a voltage detector. if it's red, walk away and call in a professional. otherwise, it's something you can handle yourself. mood lighting. that's number one. >> also it will save you energy and everybody looks great in mood lighting. >> this is what i love to recommend. will you do me a favor. will you become a ceiling fan for me. hold that blade. if they're dusty, nobody knows how to clean them. what happens when you clean them, the dust falls on to the bed. it's messy. it's terrible. take a simple pillowcase like this. spray a cleaning solution. >> a fancy one. >> any cleaning solution.

you can go if there or on the blade itself. you encapsulate the fan blade and pull the dust off that way. it's contained in the bag, no mess, no fuss. >> five seconds, not even a minute fix. >> cleaning out the filters not only for air conditioning, your heaters as well. something that you need to do how often? >> an interior air quality is critical. people with allergies. i recommend at least every three months in the summer and the height of the winter season. if you have clean air, you have a great living environment. don't ignore this. these are in many shapes and sizes. bring your old one to the store, replace it. >> even if we're not using air conditioners, you immediate to do that? >> yeah. but in the height of the months where we're using them, it's critical to replace them every three months. that's an easy fix. >> this is a great one. >> clogged showerheads. >> that's right. what i like to recommend, instead of getting into replacing the showerhead because water is not flowing, pour

vinegar in a bag and tape it on the neck of the showerhead, let it soak overnight. all the things that clogged the showerhead, are free, flows again. that's about 50 seconds. >> not a problem with the unit. >> it's exactly that. >> it's the crud in there. >> that's why water doesn't flow. >> finally over here, stains on the spots and fixtures. >> water stains are difficult to clean. i don't like using the solutions that come in the commercial grade product. like a lemon cut in half. rub it on any area with chrome or finish on your fixtures, lemon only. wipe it off. good to go. then squeeze it in your salad dressing. >> cleaning the fingerprints. coming up next, the biggest doggie addition. the 77-pound dachshund's mission to get fit. that's right after this. for a golf getaway. double miles you can actually use...

but mr. single miles can't join his friends this is an nbc news special report. good morning, everyone. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie here in new york, and we're expecting a statement from secretary of state hillary clinton at any moment in the wake of these deadly anti-american protests in the middle east. >> four americans have been killed in an attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya, including the u.s. ambassador there. christopher stevens and a foreign service information management officer sean smith. other names have not been released yet. that violence, of course, triggered by a u.s.-made film that denounced islam. >> we're understanding that secretary clinton is speaking from the treaty room at the state department, so let's bring in nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell, and andrea, we've already seen a statement released from secretary clinton. what else are we expecting to

hear? >> reporter: we're going to hear her not only express her profound sorrow but also speak to all of the diplomats. this is really a crushing blow to the foreign service, and chris stevens was personally close to the secretary and close to the president. this is someone who was only appointed by president obama, sworn in to office last may. he had had two prior tours of duty. he been in benghazi during the uprising. he had been on the ground in libya, but also as a career foreign service officer and ambassador in other parts of the middle east, he had been a -- a real leader of the foreign service. peace corps volunteer in morocco in the '80s, a graduate of berkeley, a real hero, and also sean smith, the foreign service officer. you're going to hear great sorrow and remorse. >> and are we going to hear from the secretary exactly what the state department and the administration plans to do to secure other embassies and consulates in the region and around the world? >> reporter: i think that secretary clinton will speak about the importance of securing

the consulates and embassies around the world, but i think you'll hear more of that from president obama who is going to be speaking at the rose garden in less than an hour, we're told, so this is all very fast-moving. they have only just been trying to confirm who the other two americans besides sean smith and christopher stevens are. >> and andrea, on that topic. i mean, there were conflicting reports this morning about how exactly this happened, how the ambassador died. what do we know about what happened in benghazi? >> reporter: what we know so far, and some of this is from richard engel's excellent reporting all night and libyan sources and sources in the region, is that he was -- the ambassador was inside the compound and may have fallen victim to smoke inhalation after the fires that were ignited around the consulate. so savannah, i think a lot of this is still to be determined. as you know very well, marines secure all of these facilities, and that is -- one of the issues is whether there were some military deaths among the

americans. >> andrea, of course, libya is not the only hot spot. we saw unrest at the egyptian embassy as well. what can you tell us about that? >> reporter: well, richard has been reporting from outside the embassy in cairo, that it is calmer at least today than it was yesterday, and we're not exactly clear as to whether these two incidents are related, but it may well be related to this video, not had a move, and wasn't going to be distributed in any other fashion other than online. a lot of misinformation on the arab street but tragically this is what it has led to and you've seen calls in congress and elsewhere of great concern that it has not been immediately condemned by officials in cairo, instantly condemned, and, of course, they are recipients of billions and billions of dollars of american aid. >> andrea, stand by for us, if you will. still waiting to hear from secretary clinton. as you mentioned, richard engel has bee reporting from outside the embassy in cairo all morning long. richard, when we last joined you, there was a lot of

protesting going on. what's the scene behind you now? >> reporter: there are still protests, but this is something of a quiet moment. a lot of the protesters right now are praying in front of the embassy walls. it looks like it might be over today, but they are calling for a much larger demonstration nationwide on friday after friday prayers, and that is a call to demonstrate that is supported by the muslim brotherhood, that is, of course, the party of egypt's new president, so how times have changed here. under former president mubarak, a close u.s. alley, demonstrators wouldn't have been allowed anywhere near the embassy, now the new party's president is calling for more actions in solidarity with the demonstrators who are here and who yesterday climbed over this wall. they were unarmed here, however, unlike the demonstrators, the mob in libya, that attacked the consulate and killed the u.s. ambassador. >> richard, on that note, how much are you hearing from people

you talked to there in cairo surrounding that embassy about their knowledge and their feelings about what happened in libya? >> reporter: people here in general do not condone what happened in libya. they don't think that is the right message, and what is happening in this square is not necessarily representative of the entire country. the people protesting here by and large are hardline fundamentalists, and so many people think this was an obscure movie and jimgss and muslims everywhere around the world simply would have been much better ignoring it. >> let me ask you about this, richard. we spoke earlier. how is it that this obscure movie that you call it became such a flashpoint in the middle east, how did that happen? and secondly, is the movie the motivator for the egyptian attack and also the ones in libya, as you a understand it? >> reporter: oh, definitely. it was the movie both here and in libya. the movie was a motivator, but it was really -- it was really clerics in this country who used

the movie as a rallying cry, and they talked about it, and they said that it was a movie, not just an internet video, but some sort of hollywood blockbuster, that was going to be aired nationwide in american theaters on the anniversary of 9/11. that's why the protests started yesterday. once they started here, message swept across the border to libya. they continued in libya and became much more violent. >> all right. richard engel, stand by, if you will as well. this from a statement from the white house, from the president. i've directed my administration to provide all necessary resources to support the security of our personnel in libya and to increase security at our diplomatic posts around the globe. kristen welker is standing by now at the white house where, as we mentioned, a short time ago the president is expected to speak a little bit later on. kristen, good morning to you. what can you tell us? >> good morning, matt. i can tell you that according to senior administration officials president obama learned about this incident initially yesterday afternoon when he was

having his weekly meeting with his secretary of defense, joint chiefs of staff. he learned that there had been an attack there in benghazi. then last night he learned that ambassador stevens was missing. this morning he learned about his tragic death. so the white house, of course, monitoring this situation very closely. one of the big concerns is what will this mean for the united states and for its relationship with that new government that is forming in libya? i've spoken to a senior administration official here who says that officials in libya are cooperating right now with u.s. officials. of course, this has taken a bit of a political turn as well, matt. president obama in his initial statement, while condemning the attacks, also said that he condemned all sorts of religious intolerance. mitt romney put out a statement, i'm going to read it to you, in which he said it's disgraceful that the obama administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks. in response the obama campaign put out this statement, matt.

we are shocked that at a time when the united states of america is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in libya governor romney would choose to launch a political attack, so even while they are dealing with this unfolding situation, politics still playing a role here, but, again, we are expecting president obama to address the nation from the rose garden in less than an hour now. matt? >> kristen welker at the white house. stand by as we await secretary of state hillary clinton, her statement from the treaty room of the state department. we should mention, matt, that u.s. officials are telling nbc the state department has requested additional units of marines to be airlifted to libya to bolster security at the u.s. embassy there, the air force preparing to send a couple of aircraft to libya to supply medevac flights. >> one of the things this brings up. a lot of people hear about diplomats and diplomacy and think that this is a situation that only involves sitting around a table or making phone calls and forging personal relationships, but you have to remember, and this is evidence

of that situation, that these diplomats are placed into very dangerous situations on a daily basis, and so these attacks in libya and egypt will be watching very closely by u.s. diplomats in other parts of the world. >> well, incredibly, hot spots to be posted, too. in fact, important to go back to richard engel on that. here we have libya and egypt, two centers of revolutions, recently. rich, what is the security situation there, and in some ways is this evident of how unstable it is that things could get out of control? >> reporter: i think it's evidence of how unstable things remain in libya. the libyan security services said that they were overwhelmed by this mob. the mob attacked the consulate building in bengz we homemade grenades, with rocket-propelled grenades and with machine guns so somewhat of a barrage. here demonstrators run armed.

they are unarmed right now. they got very excited and climbed over the wall and scribbled somewhat expensive graffiti on the embassy wall, but there was no direct act of violence, no weapon here, and there was no point in time, as far as we can tell, were any personnel in danger here in cairo. >> when you talk about the plans from demonstrators in cairo for a larger demonstration tomorrow, do you have any sense what it's going to take to kind of suppress this situation and bring down emotions? >> i think the idea of the government is to let people give off steam and just since we've spoken the government, the muslim brotherhood, the party of the government, said that it does condemn the attack, does condemn the storming of the embassy, but it also supports people's legitimate right to defend their religion and condemn this horrible movie, so

it seems that the government here wants to have it both ways. it doesn't want to offend its religious base, but it also wants to not isolate the united states, but by calling for demonstrations and allowing people to come out on the streets and vent their anger, it shows a very different political mood in this country than we had before the arab spring movement. >> you know, in the mubarak days, which i don't have to tell you, the military obviously ruled with an iron fist, but they were at least liked better than the police. what's the dynamic like now? >> reporter: right now the muslim brotherhood is taking over the security services, taking over the military, taking over the police and is putting its own cadres in those top positions, and a lot of people in the military blame the u.s., blame this building right behind me, for turning its back on their old friend in the egyptian security services, so perhaps it's not quite surprising that the egyptian security services

didn't rush in to help defend the u.s. embassy when many people in the army say the united states turned its back on the army, turned its back on mubarak, threw its lot in with the muslim brotherhood and will now have to deal with it. >> and a different situation, one you know an awful lot about, richard, across the border in libya. since the fall of moammar gadhafi there's been somewhat of a security vacuum on the streets of many cities in that country. >> reporter: it has remained rebelous since gadhafi left, with rebel factions controlling cities, controlling neighborhoods, and benghazi wasn't the capital, but there was a very strong political presence there because a lot of the political leaders stayed in benghazi, never came to tripoli. that's why the u.s. ambassador, chris stevens, had to go to bengz toe meet some of the top political leaders. chris stevens was a very active

member of the opposition movement. he was there with the rebels from the very beginning. he was popular on the ground with the syrian opposition. in many ways he helped them achieve the liberation of moammar gadhafi so it is even more tragic that he was killed by this mob. >> richard engel reporting from cairo. just about to go to the state department. secretary clinton expected to speak any minutes. just a couple of other minutes from the statement released by the state department and secretary clinton a little earlier. she says all the americans we lost in yesterday's attacks have made the ultimate sacrifice. we condemn this vicious and violent attack that took their lives which they had committed to helping the libyan people reach for a better future. america's diplomats and development experts stand on the front lines every day for our country. we are honored by the service each and every one of them gives. andrea mitchell. >> andrea mitchell at the state department. this is the first ambassador killed in the line of duty, andrea, since 1979. >> and, of course, that was in

afghanistan. that's with the russian invasion of afghanistan, so this is an extraordinary occurrence, and it should be overlooked that three other americans, including a foreign service officer, at least one other foreign service officer, a member of the diplomatic corps, sean smith, also lost his life in this conflagration in benghazi. this is also a political problem, and you know the white house and state department are trying to come to grips with that in the middle of a political campaign, and the fact that there was an exchange of very harsh e-mails and press releases last night between the mitt romney and the obama campaigns about the initial response from the cairo embassy, so this is fraught with complexity as well as obviously most importantly the loss of life and a strategic and security challenge for the administration. >> andrea, just to give people an idea of what's been going on. secretary clinton was supposed to come out several minutes ago. it's now been delayed, but she is coming out shortly. you might assume that perhaps they are trying to notify next of kin of those other americans

so that when she makes her statement she can come out and pay tribute and honor all of the four americans who were killed during these attacks and not just the two that we've mentioned so far so we'll see if she has that information to share in just a couple of minutes. >> reporter: that is, of course, their first concern is to notify the next of kin. we were up all night with the state department officials and others in the u.s. government trying to even confirm that ambassador stevens had in fact lost his life, and none of us wanted to report anything, but we, even internally, did not know the real fact of that until 10:00 last night when they first even confirmed that a diplomat had been killed. >> and actually, we learned from a senior administration official that there were some hours when the president himself did not know. >> reporter: exactly. >> the first word that the white house got is that this ambassador was unaccounted for, later confirmed he had passed away during that consulate attack. not only are we awaiting the secretary of state to address reporters at the state department, we also await a

little bit later on next hour a statement from the president in the rose garden. >> all right. we're going to now join secretary clinton who is making some statements from the treaty room at the state department. yesterday, our u.s. diplomatic post in benghazi, libya was attacked. heavily armed militants assaulted the compound and set fire to our buildings. american and libyan security personnel battled the attackers together. four americans were killed. they included sean smith, a foreign service information management officer and our ambassador to libya, chris stevens. we are still making next-of-kin notification for the other two individuals. this is an attack that should shock the conscience of people of all faiths around the world.

we condemn in the strongest terms this senseless act of violence, and we send our prayers to the families, friends and colleagues of those we've lost. all over the world every day, america's diplomats and development experts risk their lives in the service of our country and our values because they believe that the united states must be a force for peace and progress in the world, that these aspirations are worth striving and sacrificing for. alongside our men and women in uniform, they represent the best traditions of a bold and generous nation. in the lobby of this building, the state department, the names of those who have fallen in the line of duty are